Japan and N. Korea end silence on soldiers' remains

Japan has decided to break its silence with North Korea with upcoming talks aimed at retrieving the remains of Japanese soldiers who were killed during World War II, The Nikkei reports. The talks were initiated by Red Cross societies from both countries.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the talks will be held in Beijing on August 29. The government-level talks will be the first for both countries in four years, and will also be a breakthrough for young North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

According to Fujimura, the talks will cover “various spending issues between the countries”, including visits by Japanese relatives to burial sites in North Korea. Tokyo also hopes to revive talks on the Japanese abductions in the 1970s and 1980s that triggered a lull in bilateral talks which has been in place since 2008, AP reports.